1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to electrical equipment and more particularly, to power converters.
2. Description of Related Art
In today's telecommunications industry, consolidation has become prevalent, and as a result, several companies have began to offer telephone and cable television service. Generally, telephone utilities use a negative (−)48 volts DC (VDC) to power telephone equipment located at a central operations facility. For example, many telephone service providers employ −48VDC power from one or more battery primary power source buses to power such equipment. Multiple buses may be used to ensure operation in the event of a bus power failure.
In contrast, cable television companies typically rely on standard 110 Volt AC (VAC) primary source power to operate the equipment necessary to provide cable television services. In many cases, this primary source power is converted to 24 VDC to operate the cable television headend equipment. Moreover, the 110 VAC power supply is typically backed up with a generator or a stand alone 110 VAC backup system, each of which can supply the required voltage to operate the headend equipment in the event of a power failure. As a result, should a single communications entity desire to supply telephone and cable television services to the consuming public, such an endeavor creates a need for numerous power supplies, including associated backup sources, and for large amounts of space to accommodate the necessary equipment, particularly if the operation is to be centered at a sole location. Thus, what is needed in the art is a system for integrating the equipment to provide these services that does not require large amounts of room in which to operate.